Of Supplication and Enlightenment: 21 Reasons Why I Write

By Mary Hannah Terzino

This is not yet the essay on why I write. This is the foreword, in which I draw back a metaphorical curtain to reveal how this particular piece of writing came into being.  It’s the part where I tell you that the form of my piece is as meaningful to me as its substance. It’s the part where I tell you that its simple structure reflects two major influences in my life.

The first is the religion I was raised in, which includes in its services “The Petitions of the ...